Final Report Uvehicle Impound Fees in Ventura County.*

14601 vary from $11 in unincorporated areas to $300 in Thousand Oaks. The average (mean) vehicle release fee for the County is $137.79.

Six cities (Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, Santa Paula and Simi Valley) and the Sheriff (unincorporated County areas) do not identify any additional tasks or any extra hours required to process the impoundment of a DUI vehicle versus the cost of other types of impounds. This transfers extra costs from the DUI violator to the general public.

There is no standardized list of allowable categories of impound costs used to calculate vehicle release fees across the County. Some cities base fees on costs that occur after a traffic stop transitions to the impound process. This cost basis also includes the vehicle release paperwork. Other cities and Sheriff collect fees based only on the cost of paperwork generated at the end of the impound process. This disparity in the services included in the fee allocations for violations for Vehicle Code sections 12500, 14601, and 23152 is a major factor in the fee variations. Response: As noted in the Report, the City of Santa Paula imposes fees once it is clear to the responding officer that the contact will result in the impoundment of a vehicle. These fees include the officers' investigation time relating to the impoundment, completing the necessary paperwork, the maintenance of the impound file, and the processing of communications to owner of the vehicle, among others. Recommendations: